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Milwaukee Bucks: Is the media to blame for Bucks not trading on draft night?

By Brian Sampson

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 22: Head coach Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the first quarter against the Washington Wizards in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena on April 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 22: Head coach Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the first quarter against the Washington Wizards in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena on April 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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According to an interview, the Milwaukee Bucks lost an agreed upon trade on draft night due to the media reporting picks ahead of time.

The Milwaukee Bucks may have gotten screwed on draft night thanks to certain well-known reporters leaking draft picks on Twitter.

ESPN, along with various other media outlets had an agreement with the NBA not to tweet out or leak draft picks ahead of their official announcement at the 2018 NBA Draft. This rule is a recent one, but had been followed up until last night.

Unfortunately, Adrian Wojnarowski, Shams Charania and others blatantly disrespected the agreement and found a “loophole” around the rule. Throughout the course of the night, they tweeted out each teams pick well ahead of time but with a caveat. Wojnarowski, in particular, used words like “lasered in on,” “prefers,” or “locked in.” to get around the deal. Even though it was funny at the time, it may have cost the Bucks a chance at a trade.

According to a radio interview with Atlanta Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk, the Bucks and Hawks had an agreed-upon deal involving Milwaukee’s 17th overall pick and Atlanta’s 19th pick. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Wojnarowski and Charania’s impermissible tweets caused Atlanta to back out of the deal:

"Last night, for instance, we had the 19th pick and we’re coming down and we’re actually talking to Milwaukee on the 17th pick, talking about trading up to get a guy we like,” Schlenk said. “There’s were a couple of guys we felt really good about on the 19th pick, obviously Kevin [Huerter] was one of them, and it leaked who Milwaukee was going to take. So, all of a sudden, we were able to pull back out of that deal and keep the draft pick instead of packaging picks to move up…"

Even though Wojnarowski prematurely released the 16th and 18th picks, it was Charania who informed the public about Milwaukee’s:

Although many people thought Wojnarowski’s actions were funny at the time, his blatant disrespect of the NBA and his bosses at ESPN, along with other media members actions, may have cost the Bucks a chance at gathering future assets. It’s very likely Milwaukee would have gathered other picks and still been able to select Donte DiVincenzo with the 19th selection.

Atlanta owned the 30th and 34th pick in the draft so it’s likely Milwaukee could’ve acquired another selection in this year’s deep class. It’s doubtful to happen, but the media members who leaked the picks should have some sort of consequences for his actions given the ripple effects their disrespectful behavior had. Rules are in place for a reason, and you, Mr. Wojnarowski and Mr. Charania, are not above them.

*This article originally insinuated Adrian Wojnarowski was solely responsible for the leaked tweets. However, it’s been changed to more accurately reflect the ongoing issue in the media on draft night.

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